Gray Tree Frog Facts & Care
The gray tree frog is a small-sized frog that can change color from green to dark gray for camouflage and has a marbling pattern. It is found living in most of eastern North America, including Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. It has large pads at the end of each toe that help it climb trees and is an easy species to keep as a pet.
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Habitat
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Gray tree frogs can be kept in glass aquarium tanks that are no smaller than 15 gallons in size. Even though they're a small frog, they are very active and move around a lot. The gray tree frog tends to spend most of its time in the trees hunting for food. To replicate this environment in captivity, the gray tree frog should be given plenty of sticks and plants to climb on. A substrate of peat moss, coconut fiber or potting soil can be used along the bottom of the tank.
Diet
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In the wild, gray tree frogs eat a variety of small insects and other invertebrates. In captivity, they can be fed small insects such as crickets, silkworms or flightless fruit flies, depending on the size of the frog.
To provide the frog with water, it can be misted daily. This will allow the gray tree frog to absorb water through its skin, as well as provide the frog's habitat with adequate humidity.
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Heating and Lighting
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Room temperature is adequate for the gray tree frog. It cannot tolerate temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit for prolonged periods of time. Gray tree frogs are less sensitive to cooler temperatures, and the gray tree frog possesses the ability to freeze solid in the winter, and thaw out in the spring. No supplemental heating is necessary for this frog, and neither is supplemental UV lighting. However, if the tank has live plants in it the UV lighting will be necessary for them to grow.
Humidity
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Humidity is extremely important for gray tree frogs to thrive as they like to live in moist areas in the wild. Daily misting can help achieve the necessary humidity level of approximately 60 percent.
Warning
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Gray tree frogs are native to most of North America and many people can find them in their own backyard. However, removing a gray tree frog from the wild can harm their populations, and removing native wildlife is illegal in many states.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit tree frog image by Dwight Davis from Fotolia.com
